Not Applicable
This invention relates to the processing of images for high volume pagewidth printing. More particularly, this invention relates to a method of processing an image for printing, an image processing apparatus and an inkjet printer.
This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/112,767 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,167. The followimg United States applications and patents are hereby incorporated by reference: 6,227,652 6,213,588 6,213,589, 6,231,163 6,247,795 6,394,581 6,244,691 6,257,704 6,416,168 6,220,694 6,257,705 6,247,794 6,234,610 6,247,793 6,264,306 6,241,342 6,247,792 6,264,307 6,254,220 6,234,611 6,302,528 6,283,582 6,239,821 6,338,547 6,247,796 6,390,603 6,362,843 6,293,653 6,312,107 6,227,653 6,324,609 6,238,040 6,188,415 6,227,654 6,209,989 6,247,791 6,336,710 6,217,153 6,416,167 6,243,113 6,583,281 6,247,790 6,260,953 6,267,469 6,273,544 6,309,048 6,420,196 6,443,558 6,439,689 6,378,989 6,406,129 6,505,916 6,457,809 6,457,812 6,428,133 6,362,868, 6,443,555 09/422,893 09/113,122, now allowed 09/425,420, now abandoned 09/693,703, now allowed 09/693,727, now abandoned.
High volume, high resolution printing is an objective that has been sought by the manufacturers of wide format printers for some time. Wide format printers have been available to the public for many years. Examples of popular wide format printers are the Hewlett Packard (HP) 1000/5000, the HP 3000/3500, the Epson 7000/10 000 and many others.
These printers all have a traversing printhead that traverses a print medium while depositing ink on the medium. Applicant believes that these printers suffer from inherent disadvantages, particularly when attempts are made to utilize the design of such printers in order to achieve faster printing speeds at high resolutions.
Central to the problem of achieving high printing speeds is the ability to achieve a printhead that is capable of generating the necessary number of ink dots at a suitable rate. Further, in order to achieve accurate printing, it is desirable that a row or band of the image be created in as little print cycles as possible, and preferably in a single print cycle. It follows that it is undesirable for a traversing printhead to be used in an attempt to achieve high print speeds and that a single printhead incorporating a suitable number of inkjet nozzles is required.
Thermal printheads also referred to as bubble jet printheads and piezoelectric printheads have been available for some time. These suffer from excessive heat build up and energy consumption and have therefore been found by the applicant to not be suitable for use in a pagewidth configuration. A number of disadvantages associated with such printheads are set out in U.S. Pat. No 6,443,555.
The applicant has developed a printhead chip that is capable of producing images having a resolution as high as 1600 dpi. These chips are manufactured using integrated circuit fabrication techniques. Details of the chips are provided in the above referenced applications and patents. Applicant believes that these printhead chips are extremely suitable for use in wide format printers. The reason for this is that such chips operate at extremely high speeds due to the large number of nozzle arrangements required in a single chip and due to the fact that such chips can be driven at an extremely high cyclical rate.
The Applicant has been faced with a number of difficulties in order to achieve the effective use of such printhead chips in wide format printers. One particular difficulty identified by the Applicant is the effective control of a number of such printhead chips to achieve accurate printing. This control must incorporate the use of effective image processing tools that are capable of processing stored images at a rate that corresponds with the physical rate of printing achievable by a number of the above printhead chips.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of processing an image for printing, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving image data in an image storage format;
transforming the image data into print data at a rate of at least one billion pixels per second; and
communicating the print data to a printhead.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus for a printer, the image processing apparatus comprising
a data input means that is configured to receive image data in an image storage format;
a data processing means that is operatively connected to the data input means and is configured to process the image data at a rate of at least one billion pixels per second to transform the data into print data; and
a data communication means that is operatively connected to the data processing means and is configured to communicate the print data to a printhead.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an inkjet printer that comprises
a support structure;
a platen positioned in the support structure;
a print assembly positioned operatively with respect to the platen to define a printing zone between the platen and the print assembly, the print assembly comprising
an elongate carrier; and
a number of printhead chips positioned on the carrier, the printhead chips together defining a printhead;
an image processing apparatus that is operatively arranged with respect to the print assembly, the image processing apparatus comprising
a data input means configured to receive image data in an image storage format;
a data processing means that is configured to process the image data at a rate of at least one billion pixels per second to transform the data into print data; and
a data communication means that is configured to communicate the print data to the printhead; and
a feed mechanism positioned on the support structure for feeding a print medium though the printing zone.
The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is not intended to limit the broad scope of the above summary.